Different World
by bristow860
Summary: The Doctor left Rose on the parallel world but she wasn't alone. But things aren't going so well between John and Rose. What if a parallel Martha existed too? What if she met the pair?
1. Chapter 1

Rose Tyler was mad

Rose Tyler was mad. It was a Friday afternoon in London, the rain was pouring down and she was sitting in what was possibly the most boring meeting she had ever been in. The downside of being the director of parallel world Torchwood was that it was still run by the government, thus many hours of meetings and paperwork. All this would have been bearable however; if it wasn't for the fact that she had had another fight with him this morning.

She calculated that in the last two months they had had approximately thirty arguments. Some small, some trivial and some huge. Today's fight had started trivial (she wanted to go out tonight, he wanted to stay in) but had quickly turned into one of the huge variety. She was starting to get fed up with all of this. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. All those times she had dreamed of living a life with him and not once did she imagine the constant bickering and the hours of tense silences that followed.

He was bored. That was his problem. He had the knowledge of the world, all of time and space packed into his brain, but he lived a normal life. And much as she hated to admit it, she was bored of him too. This wasn't the man she fell in love with. The man she loved was still out there, travelling among the stars, having adventure after adventure. Her heart ached, and she felt incredibly jealous of Donna. Last time she had seen him, he and Donna were heading off in the Tardis, off to have millions of adventures together.

She should never have let him go. She knew that now. She had gotten so caught up in hearing the words "I love you" coming from the other Doctors mouth that she hadn't thought it through. What the fact that he was human really meant for them. What it meant, she soon found out, was cleaning the house, slobbing around in tracksuit bottoms and watching the Sunday omnibus of Eastenders.

Finally released from the meeting, she walked into her office, contemplating whether it would be possible to leave early. She could really do with getting her roots done and if she left now, Jessica might be able to fit her in. She stopped though when she saw the familiar brown haired man sitting in front of her desk.

"Hey" She said. She wasn't sure if they were on speaking terms at the minute, but she figured it was a good sign that he was there.

The Doctor, no sorry, John (she still found it hard to remember to call him that), stood and walked over to her. He kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey you" he said. "You still mad at me?"

She shook her head. "No. I was never really mad at all. I'm worried about us John" she said seriously.

He nodded and stuck out his hand. "Come on, lets go get some coffee" he said. "We can just sit and talk. What you think?"

"Anything to get out of here," she laughed grabbing her coat.

Ten minutes later the pair walked into a coffee shop. Rose was smoothing down her hair, grumbling under her breath about the rain, and the fact that she had just straightened it this morning.

The pair stood in the queue discussing whether a low fat latte or skinny mocha was the way to go, when the girl behind the counter called them up.

John stopped short and stared at her. Rose frowned. That girl was REALLY familiar, but she couldn't quite place her. The brown eyes, dark hair and mocha skin. Then her eyes locked on the girls name badge and realisation dawned.

"Martha??" John gasped.

The girl nodded and smiled. "Yes sir, how can I help you?"


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

John stared at Martha. The brilliant Martha Jones was standing in front of him! How great was that?? Unfortunately she was looking at him with a blank look on her face, and the slightly uncomfortable look in her eyes made him realise that he was still staring at her, and she had no idea who he was. Well why would she?

Rose was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "Sorry" she said smiling brightly at Martha and shooting John a look which he immediately read as _Stop!! You're scaring her"_

"You'll have to excuse my friend. He's not feeling the best today" Rose explained to Martha. "You look just like somebody he used to travel with."

John was just smiling manically at Martha, who was looking more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. Rose nudged John and when he didn't react she flat out punched his shoulder.

"Ow" John turned and frowned at Rose. "What was that for?"

Rose forced a smile. "Honey, this young lady just wants to take our order. She doesn't care who she looks like or ANYTHING" Rose put a lot of emphasis on the last word which seemed to work and snapped John out of reverie.

"Right yes. Sorry. Can I get flavoured latte? Oh do you do banana flavoured lattes?" John said.

Rose rolled her eyes. As Martha looked more and more confused, Rose leaned in and said "Just two regular coffees please."

"I'll drop those down to you ok?" Martha said, looking relieved that the crazy man was leaving her alone.

"That's brilliant thanks" Rose said paying. Then she grabbed John by the hand, and dragged him towards a seat far away from the counter and Martha.

"Oh My God" she said as soon as they were seated. "You are just unbelievable. You of all people should know. This is a parallel world. She's not your Martha. She's a different Martha. She's never met the Doctor." Rose felt the familiar twinge in her stomach when she mentioned his name, but she pushed the feeling away. She was getting pretty good at that by now.

John's eyes were far away. "She's a waitress" he said faintly.

Rose was confused. "What?"

John turned to look at her. "Martha. She's a waitress here. Back on earth, she's a doctor. She helps people. She's amazing. But here she's a waitress."

Rose shrugged. "Parallel world Doctor. Remember, I didn't even exist here."

John nodded slowly. "I know, but it's so hard to see her wasted here. Especially when I know how fantastic she really is"

Rose couldn't help but feel a little bit of jealousy. John had never really told her what had happened between him and Martha. All he had said is that he had treated her really badly and that the best thing she had ever done was to leave him. Rose wasn't sure she wanted to know any more. Part of her was glad that he hadn't been alone, but a tiny part of her (a really really tiny part) had hoped that he had spent most of the time moping over her.

"Shh" Rose shushed him as she saw Martha coming over carrying two coffees. Too late Rose saw the handbag sticking out from under a random girl's chair. "Be careful" she cried.

Martha stumbled and as she went to right herself, sent the two coffees flying straight into the air. The two cups went flying into the air, and the boiling hot liquid landed on the hand of a young man sitting at the next table.

"Oh my God" Martha said. "I am so sorry"

"What the hell lady?" the guy shouted holding his hand in pain. The manager rushed down to see what all the commotion was.

"Sir I am so sorry" he said. "Come with me and we'll see what we can do about that hand" Turning to Martha he whispered "Consider yourself fired. Leave immediately"

Martha stood in shock. Rose and John were still sitting at the table. Rose felt somehow responsible for what had happened, which was ridiculous but still she felt like she owed Martha something.

Martha was stood in the middle of the coffee shop. Everyone in the shop was staring at her. John jumped up out of his seat and led her out of the shop. She turned away from him and burst into tears.

"Oh my God what am I going to do?" she said through her tears.

John placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. You'll get another job."

Martha shook her head. "Who's going to hire a waitress who burns her customers??"

John smiled "Fair enough." He grew suddenly serious.

"Do you mind me asking, why are you working as a waitress? You seem capable of so much more" he said.

Martha laughed wryly. "I'm trying to save up the money to go to medical school. All my life I've wanted to be a doctor. But my father was killed by those cybermen things a couple years back, and my family lost all its money. So now I have to work here until I work up enough money to put myself through college."

She stopped suddenly. "Why am I telling you this?" she asked. "Sorry"

Martha looked for the first time at the man who had jumped to comfort her. He was tall and skinny, with the best hair she had ever seen. He had big brown eyes and she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him a thought which she quickly brushed aside. She wasn't a single girl. She shouldn't be thinking like that. And wasn't this man with that pretty blonde girl??

Rose ran up to the pair. She held out her hand to Martha. "Hi. We've not been properly introduced. I'm Rose Tyler and this is The… This is John Smith." Rose stumbled over his name.

Martha shook her hand. "Martha Jones" she said smiling.

"Listen, Martha Jones," Rose said. "How would you like a job?? I work for a company called Torchwood…

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Martha Jones stood on the 14th floor, looking out at London stretching out before her. The city was bathed in late evening sunlight and the cars passing down below were catching the sun as they passed. But Martha didn't see a thing.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts. Her life had changed dramatically in just a few hours and she was having trouble getting her mind around everything. For one thing, she had learned that aliens do actually exist. She supposed that she'd known that for a while. I mean those Cybermen things that had killed her father had hardly come over on a plane now had they?? But to hear it all spelled out to her by these two people was just amazing. Amazing and terrifying.

Plus that Rose girl had given her a job here. Torchwood. A whole place dedicated to tracking down alien life forms. She would have pinched herself to see if she was dreaming, except she was well aware that she would never be able to think up something this mad, even subconsciously.

Martha had never really thought of herself as a particularly perceptive person, but even she was picking up the weird vibe that was coming from Rose and John. John kept looking at Martha and smiling randomly, which Martha had to admit she didn't half mind. She'd deduced that John and Rose were dating, but she also suspected that things were not so rosy under the surface. There was a slight tension in the air, and Martha couldn't help but feel that somehow she was the cause of it, a feeling she told herself repeatedly was crazy, but yet could not shake.

Martha suddenly realised her purse was vibrating. She rushed to her bag and pulled out her phone. She smiled as she checked the screen and answered the phone.

"You are not going to believe what happened to me today…"

* * *

Two offices down the hall Rose and John were sitting together in silence. There was a palpable tension in the room. Rose was standing looking out the window at the same scene Martha had been looking at a few minutes ago. John sat on the desk, his back turned to Rose. The silence was deafening.

Rose stared out the window lost deep in thought. Martha seemed like a lovely girl. She was definitely smart, probably even smarter than she was Rose thought wryly. Martha was funny too, and had taken the whole alien thing in her stride. Yet Rose felt a vague jealousy. There was something in the way that John looked at Martha that reminded her of the way the Doctor used to look at her. For the first time she understood the fact that the Doctor had travelled with someone else after her. Somebody else had watched his eyes light up as they landed on some new, unexplored planet, held his hand and ran from whatever trouble he had gotten them into and had been pulled into one of his trademark hugs when a plan had finally come together. And now it was like **that** somebody was here. At least in the way John had looked at her.

John was oblivious to Rose's thoughts however. He was deep in memories. He and Martha fighting the Judoon on the moon, the time they spent in 1969, and the way she walked out the door… This was a whole new Martha however, a Martha who had no memories of him, of what they had done and how he had treated her. It was a brand new start for the pair of them. The thought pleased him thoroughly.

John and Rose looked up as there was a knock on the door. Martha entered carrying her phone.

"Sorry. Miss Tyler…" she began.

Rose raised her hand to stop Martha. "Straight away, it's not Miss. Tyler. It's Rose. Ok?" She smiled at Martha.

Martha grinned back at her. "Sorry Rose. I was just wondering how much I'm allowed tell other people about what we do here. I mean, it is top secret or…?"

Rose smiled. "It's not exactly top secret. We don't really publicise what we do here, but it's hardly a state secret."

Martha nodded. "Ok. Well do you mind if I get someone to meet me here?" she asked.

John jumped in. "Of course we don't mind. Why would we mind? We love to meet people don't we Rose? Remember Charles Dickens? He was great wasn't he?" John turned to look at Rose who was shaking her head slightly at him.

Martha frowned but brushed the comment away. One thing she had realised in the last couple of hours was that John had some back story that she was not privy to. She figured when the time was right she would hear the story. Until then, she would ignore the random comments… or, more likely, just wonder about what she heard and jump to conclusions about the pair who had introduced her to the amazing truth. Right now her favourite theory was that they were a couple going through a hard time, maybe due to some sort of breakdown on John's behalf. Though she hoped this wasn't true. There was something about John that really attracted her even though she had no idea why. I mean yeah he was good looking, gorgeous even. She would be very happy to just lose herself in those brown eyes. Yet there was something more, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Martha's phone rang again and she excused herself to answer it leaving Rose and John alone in the room again.

"So, how much do we tell her?" Rose asked.

John shook his head. "I don't know yet. We'll just have to see how things go, how much she can take. Though knowing Martha Jones, there won't be much she can't handle" His eyes took on a faraway look again and Rose felt that stab of jealousy that she wasn't quite sure how to handle.

The door opened again and Martha entered. She was not alone however. She was followed by a young good looking man. He was tall and well built, with dark hair and a days worth of stubble on his face.

"I'd like you to meet someone." Martha said to Rose and John.

"This is Tom Milligan. My fiancée."

John felt his stomach plummet and Rose felt a tiny smile come to her lips.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

Martha was wide awake. She looked over at the luminous numbers of her alarm clock and sighed in frustration when she realised that it was 2 A.M. Her mind was racing however and she was finding it impossible to switch it off. She looked over at the man fast asleep beside her. Tom had been there for her through some really difficult times, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she was staying with him out of a sense of duty, not love.

She slowly swung her legs out of the bed, taking care not to wake Tom. She stiffened as he moved slightly, but he settled again and his breathing grew more regular. She grabbed her dressing gown and made her way downstairs. She moved into the kitchen and put on the kettle. Sitting down at the table, she thought about what had happened during the day. She had gone to work as usual this morning and now here she was. Fired and hired in the same day. And all this stuff about aliens was crazy. Not to mention the fact that she was now working for a company who fought aliens on a regular basis. She wasn't entirely sure what her new job would entail. Rose had been incredibly vague when Martha questioned her about her responsibilities. Martha had the funniest feeling that the job had been offered to her before Rose had really thought about what could be done with her.

When Tom had come into the office, she had felt the tension increase monumentally, though she was not exactly sure why. John had glared at Tom a little bit, before interrogating him thoroughly. Rose had initially seemed thrilled to meet Tom, but as John had gone on, her face had hardened and a dangerous glint had come into her eyes. John appeared to be oblivious, but Martha had hastily made her apologies and she and Tom had left, Tom gushing about her new 'hot' boss.

"Well she's certainly much better than that fat lump Mr. Jackson" Tom had said as he and Martha had waited on the lift to come. "You know, I've always had a thing for blondes" he finished, teasing Martha.

She smiled. "Go for it so. She's got a boyfriend you know" she added, calling his bluff.

"That skinny guy?" Tom turned around and smiled at John who was standing at the office door, watching Martha and Tom a funny look on his face. Tom turned away.

"Aw, I think I could take that guy!" Tom said. "He doesn't look like he'd be able to withstand that much"

Martha giggled and the pair walked into the lift. "C'mon Rocky" she said. "Let's get pizza and chill out"

"Sounds good to me" Tom said. "And you can fill me in on what the hell actually happened today"

"Deal." Martha said, waving at Rose and John as the lift doors closed.

* * *

Things in the Smith/Jones household had gone from bad to worse. Rose and John were lying in bed, facing away from each other as far away from each other as they could get without physically getting out of the bed.

Rose wasn't sure what was worse. The blazing rows they'd been having for the past while, or the tense silence of the last couple hours. They were tip-toeing around each other, each one afraid to say anything for fear of starting an argument, both hoping the other would start the conversation they were too afraid to have.

Neither was asleep. Rose had even given up the pretence of closing her eyes. She wanted John to know she was upset. She wanted him for once to have a clue and to ask her what was wrong, for them to discuss their relationship and fix the problems that were in it. Though she wasn't sure if their major problem could ever be resolved. The fact that he wasn't somebody else is a fairly major problem as far as problems go.

John felt Rose stirring beside him. How did they end up like this he wondered? At times it seemed like they were strangers to each other. This was not the Rose that he had fallen so in love with on their travels, and he suspected that he was not the man that she had fallen in love with either. Well, obviously he wasn't technically, but he had all the same memories, he looked the same and he acted the same. So what was so different?

"Rose" he said softly into the darkness. "You're awake aren't you?"

Rose breathed in deeply before sitting up and turning on the light. She rubbed her eyes as they grew accustomed to the light. Biting her lower lip she turned to look at John.

"Were you in love with her" Rose asked bluntly, noticing the look of shock on John's face.

"What? Who?" John stuttered.

"Martha. The other Martha. The Doctor's Martha." Rose said, determined that she wasn't going to let the Doctor away without answering the question that was all she had thought about all evening.

"What? No, I mean I loved travelling with her. She was brilliant. You should have seen the things she did. She walked the earth for a whole year, watched whole civilisations burn, and she did it for me. And I treated her so badly. I ignored her; I made her feel second best. I made her feel like she was a stand in for you" John said all of this without thinking and when he got to the last sentence he stopped abruptly.

Rose looked John straight in the eye. "Did you love her?"

"No. But if it wasn't for you I probably could have" John answered truthfully.

"I love you" Rose said simply, wondering to herself how true this statement was.

"I love you too" John answered, wondering why when he said those words Martha's face flashed briefly into his mind.

* * *

**A/N **

**Thanks so much for the AMAZING response to the last chapter. The next chapter will begin to deal with Martha in Torchwood and will have more Martha/John interaction. I'm a big Martha fan, so if you're expecting a Rose happy ending i'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Though as i've said to a couple readers i have no intention of bashing Rose so i assure everybody that it is very safe to read. All comments good or bad are very very much appreciated. Until the next time... enjoy!! xx**


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Martha stood in her bedroom, staring into her closet. What the hell does one wear to a job where you hunt down aliens, she wondered desperately? Was it a jeans and trainers thing or a skirt and heels?? Eventually she compromised on jeans and a pair of ankle boots.

She walked into the kitchen where Tom was sitting eating his breakfast.

"How do I look?" she asked, twirling in front of him.

"Like a million dollars" Tom answered, picking up his bowl and bringing it towards the sink, stopping on the way to place a kiss on the back of Martha's neck.

She turned to face him and his hands snaked around her waist. She raised her arms and encircled his neck.

Tom leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

"You'll be the most beautiful woman in the place" he murmured his hands cupping her ass.

Martha grinned and playfully bit Tom's lower lip. Tom moaned slightly and pulled away from Martha.

"Let's just pause it there and take it up again later" he said. "You don't want to be late for your first day of work!"

"I guess" Martha said slowly. "I'm actually really nervous though!"

"Don't be honey" Tom said, grabbing his coat and kissing her briefly on the lips. "You'll be fantastic!"

Martha waved as Tom walked out the door. She poured herself a cup of coffee and braced herself for the day ahead.

-----

John was antsy. He was sitting in his office at Torchwood. Rose had gotten him a job in Torchwood. Aliens and things like that he knew a thing or two about and he was **the** expert in Torchwood. But today he couldn't concentrate.

Today, Martha Jones was starting her new job. He was going to see her everyday and the idea filled him with excitement. Being here with Rose hadn't turned out as planned and he had often thought about Martha and Donna and how much he missed them. And now Martha was here. Well almost. He had to constantly remind himself that she wasn't the Martha he knew. Sure she looked the same, and from the brief conversations he's had with her, she seemed the same. But she had been through things that the other Martha hadn't had to endure, like the death of her father. Not that his Martha had had things much better, what with having to walk the earth for a year and all.

Suddenly John was interrupted from his musings by a knock at the door. Rose popped her head around.

"Hey listen I've to go to that meeting this morning, so could you please show Martha the ropes. You know, show her the holding cells etc?" Rose asked.

John nodded. "Yeah no problem. Is she here yet?"

Rose nodded her head slightly. "Yeah. She's just popped to the loo so I'll send her in to you ok?"

Rose waved at John and closed out the door, before thinking better of it and returning to the office.

John turned around to her and was taken by surprise as she grabbed his tie and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips firmly on his.

John gasped as she opened her mouth and slid her tongue into his mouth. He closed his eyes and deepened the kiss. He felt the side of the desk press into the back of his legs and he put one hand back to steady himself. His other hand was on the small of Rose's back. Her hands were inside his suit jacket, pulling at the buttons on his shirt and she pushed him down on the desk, knocking papers and stationary in their hunger for each other.

The moment was broken by the sound of a gasp and an embarrassed sounding "Oh my god… I'm sorry… Excuse me"

John and Rose looked up just in time to see Martha's mortified face as she ran out the door of the office.

Rose and John disentangled themselves from each other and stood fixing their clothes. John was tying his shirt and Rose was wondering when exactly he had managed to undo her bra.

When Rose had finally gotten herself together she walked out of the office and straight into Martha, who immediately started apologising profusely.

Rose stopped her. "Martha it's perfectly okay. It was all our fault and I'm sorry for putting you in that position, especially on your first day!"

Martha chuckled. "It's fine. I know what its like!! Sometimes you can't help yourself right??!"

Rose laughed and nodded. "Exactly. You know Miss. Jones, I think me and you are going to get along very well. Shit, I've to run to this meeting. John is waiting for you in there. He's gonna give you the tour and stuff ok?"

Martha nodded and waved goodbye as Rose stepped into the lift.

Martha knocked on the door and waited until she heard John's reply before entering.

She smiled at John, that smile he knew so well and had missed so much. "Knocking. That's the first thing I've leaned here" she said, a twinkle in her eye.

John blushed slightly and brushed by the statement. "So, Martha, you want to see what happens here??" he asked, feeling the familiar excitement. He was showing Martha Jones the universe, introducing her to a world which was beyond her wildest imagination. God he'd missed that.

He sat Martha down and started to explain to her about aliens and the idea of travelling through time and space. He grinned as he watched her eyes fill with wonder and it took all of his power not to blurt out the truth to her about her real reason for being in Torchwood.

------

Rose sat in the meeting deep in thought, but not about the awesomely boring discussion that was being held around her. She felt uneasy and slightly guilty.

She was a smart girl. She knew that. So why the hell had she done that this morning? It was like she had been overcome by some strange force. And much as she longed to say that it was alien, she knew better. It was jealousy. Throwing John down on the table and starting to rip off his clothes where she **knew** Martha would see them? What was wrong with her??

She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Martha was great. She meant what she said earlier. She did think she and Martha would get on well. And its not like things were perfect with John. In fact they were far from it. But when she saw the way the John looked at Martha it reminded her that The Doctor had also known Martha Jones. HER Doctor had looked at Martha like that. And the thought was killing her.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Six weeks later**

"Crap!" Martha Jones shouted at the top of her voice as the torch slipped out of her hand. Running and holding things didn't exactly go hand in hand, but in the last six weeks she had gotten better at it. Working in Torchwood, especially when she was on assignment with John, seemed to involve **a lot** of running.

She wondered if John was still behind her and was quickly answered when she heard his voice shout "I've got it. Keep going!!"

She didn't even stop to think about it. She dashed towards the 4x4 illuminated by the street lights and jumped in, followed closely by John. The alien, or whatever it was, that had been chasing them disappeared into thin air. John stared at the spot where it had just stood. "Short range teleport, they can't have gone far" he shouted, making a move to leave the car again. Martha grabbed his arm.

"John, you're bleeding. You are in absolutely no condition to go off chasing whatever that was. We should just go back to base and check in with Rose. See if Ryan has found any info for us. Ok?" Martha said in a tone of voice that suggested she wasn't to be messed with.

"Yes Ma'am!" John said smirking slightly.

Mike, in the front seat turned to look at the pair, who were sweaty and out of breath from their exertions. John had a red stain coming through his shirt which Martha was looking at worriedly.

"Let me check that out." Martha said, indicating the blood stain on John's chest which was spreading by the minute.

"It's nothing" John said. "The big one just gave me a little scratch". He winced slightly as Martha reached and touched the stain.

Martha raised her eyebrows. "Nothing right?" she asked. She opened up his shirt slowly and exposed his bare chest.

As she lightly traced her finger over the wound John grimaced and inhaled sharply.

"It doesn't hurt huh?" Martha asked, gently pressing on the sides of the gash.

"Well…" John said softly and as Martha looked up, she realised that her face was just inches from John's, so close that she could count every freckle. Her eyes locked with his and it felt as if the air had been forced out of her lungs and her stomach began a dance.

She suddenly became aware that her hand was still lying on his bare chest, but with the awareness came the other realisation- that she really didn't want to move it.

Martha's whole body was turned towards John and it seemed the most natural thing to him to lay his hand on her knee.

Their eyes were still locked on each other, and Martha could see a spark behind John's eyes, and she realised that the spark was probably being reciprocated in her eyes.

The pair jumped as the sound of someone clearing their throat, ripped them out of the moment they were sharing. Martha looked up sharply and saw Mike sitting in the front seat looking at them in the rear view mirror, his eyebrow slightly raised as he surveyed the pair.

Martha pulled herself sharply away from John, waited for her heart to stop racing, and then looked Mike straight in the eye. "Don't you think maybe we should be heading back to base?" she asked sharply, feeling a stabbing pain in her stomach, which she instantly recognised as guilt. Great. She hadn't even done anything and yet here she was beating herself up about something.

So she had a little crush? So what? It happened to people all the time. And it's not like it meant she didn't love Tom. I mean, she was going to marry Tom. Of course she loved him…. Didn't she??

John was buttoning up his shirt and seemed oblivious to the thoughts that were swirling around Martha's head. She began to wonder if she had just imagined it, if she had projected feelings onto him that she had wanted to see. It was only then she realised that John still had his hand on her knee and looking up quickly she caught the quick smile on his face before he lifted it off as they pulled up outside the Torchwood building. Ok. So she was definitely not imagining it.

John and Martha made their way slowly into the building. John was wincing with every step he took. As they stepped into the lift, John stumbled and Martha reached out to hold him up. She placed her arms around him, and he laid all of his body weight on her. She couldn't help but notice that his face had drained of all colour and his hands had begun to shake.

The doors of the lift opened and as she helped John out, a blonde blur came flying at them.

"Doc….. Uh John!" Rose cried stopping right in front of the pair. She twirled quickly to face Martha.

"What happened?" she asked.

Martha, frightened by the look of terror on Rose's face stuttered as she recounted the story to Rose as the pair half carried, half dragged John towards the hospital wing.

Rose shook her head and rubbed her face. Martha could hear her mumbling under her breath, but what she was saying seemed to make no sense. She was muttering something about being human and only having one heart. And what the hell was this regeneration that he wasn't going to be able to do??

Rose whipped out her phone and made a phone call.

"Mum?" she said when the call was answered. "There's been a bit of an accident here. No, not me. John. Can you come down here please?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I knew someday I'd come back to this story. You guys should probably go back and read the first six chapters before reading this cos I'd even forgotten what exactly had happened and I wrote it so I can't imagine any of you remember what happened in it! But anyway I'm back. I had left fan fiction but then returned and finished my other story so I thought it was about time I finished this one.**

**This is still very much a Martha/Duplicate Doctor but I will never engage in Rose bashing so this story is very very safe for Rose fans. **

**Anyway thank you all for your patience and hope you enjoy. (And if you do, maybe a little review?)**

* * *

Martha sat in the corridor of the hospital wing drinking what had been advertised as coffee, but which tasted more like burnt tar. She was starving, but there was no way she was going to leave until she found out how John was, and maybe got a chance to talk to Rose. Something strange was going on, had been going on since she first arrived and she was desperate to know what it was.

Behind her, through the small pane of glass in the door she could see Rose sitting by John's bed, her head bowed, and her hand gripping his tightly. John was unconscious and Rose was staring into space, muttering to herself.

Martha had asked her already if there was anything she needed, but Rose had just shook her head distractedly and pressed her for details about the aliens that had injured John. Then the team of Doctors had taken over and Martha had found herself being pushed out of the way. So instead she waited in the hall, a knot of nervous tension in her stomach. The idea of losing John was terrifying. He was the person she had worked closest with ever since she had arrived and they had been through a lot together in the six short weeks since she had joined Torchwood. Martha suspected however that her feelings for him were more than just friendly feelings for a colleague. Sitting in the corridor, unaware of what was happening to him, watching as his girlfriend held his hand and comforted him, Martha became more and more aware of how inappropriate her feelings were, but more than that, how strong they were. Much as she might like to, she didn't think these were the kind of feelings that could be switched off with enough willpower. Martha ran a hand over her face, the coolness of the band on her left hand surprising her at first. She lowered her hand slowly and looked at the rock on her fourth finger.

Tom.

Shit Tom. She'd totally forgotten about him since this whole thing started. He'd be at home wondering where she was.

Martha grabbed her bag and fumbled through it looking for her mobile. She found it in the dregs of her bag and as she took it out she swore silently. Dead.

Throwing her phone back into her bag she went in search of a pay phone. The rest of the team had gone home already so there was nobody whose phone she could borrow. Growing increasingly impatient she headed towards the front door. She was stopped in her tracks however by a blonde woman racing in the door towards her, barely managing to stop herself before she ploughed into Martha.

The woman was out of breath and looked stressed but her eyes lit up as she saw Martha.

'Oh Martha great I was hoping there'd be somebody to show me the way.'

Martha frowned. She looked at the woman closely. Early 40's, blonde, brassy. Dressed a little bit too young for her age, but overall an attractive woman. Martha though was confident she'd never met her before in her life.

'I'm sorry have we met?' she asked hoping the woman wouldn't be offended.

The other woman took a step back, shook her head and shut her eyes as if composing herself and then opened her eyes again. She smiled, but to Martha she looked as if she was forcing it.

'Oh no we haven't. I'm Jackie Tyler. Rose's mother.'

'Oh Mrs. Tyler hello. You must be so worried about John.'

Jackie nodded. 'And Rose. She would die if anything happened to him. After everything they...' she trailed off and once again Martha was left wondering what the hell was going on. She was getting increasingly annoyed by all the ambiguous statements, the half finished sentences, the stories that John began but stopped abruptly when he remembered where he was.

'Well they're both down here.' Martha led Jackie down the corridor towards the room where John lay.

She knocked gently at the door and the pair walked into the room.

Rose jumped to her feet at the sight of her mother and rushed into her arms. Jackie held her daughter as she sobbed into her shoulder.

When Rose's sobs had subsided Jackie pulled away and demanded to know what had happened.

Rose glanced at Martha and indicated to her mother to step outside. Rose turned to Martha. 'Do you mind staying with him for few minutes while I talk to my mum outside?'

Martha shook her head trying to hide the anticipation she felt at being alone with John for a few minutes.

Rose and Jackie left the room and Martha had her first opportunity to examine John closely. He was shirtless and the wound on his chest had stopped bleeding but had turned an alarming shade of green. It was unlike any wound Martha had seen in her life. John's face was pallid, his eyes shrunken into his head. His already thin frame was gaunt. If Martha didn't know any better she would have thought that he'd been in that bed for weeks instead of the three hours it had been since they were in the SUV together and he was staring into her eyes.

She took Rose's seat beside the bed careful not to disturb any of the wires that were monitoring his condition. His always uncontrollable hair had fallen onto his forehead and she raised her hand and brushed it back. Her other hand gripped his tightly and to her surprise she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

She leaned in close to him.

'I know you probably can't hear me John, but it's Martha.' She stopped feeling foolish. Glancing behind her to check there was nobody looking through the glass she took a deep breath and continued.

'Please don't die. I don't think I could bear it if you died. Everything in my life was so boring, so beige before I met you. You helped me so much, showed me wonder of the universe. And if you weren't here I honestly don't know what I would do, how I would cope.'

She stopped again, then powered on before she could change her mind.

'And I honestly think I'm falling in love with you.'

The words were out now. Martha gasped to herself as she realised what she had just said. It was the first time she had allowed herself to think this, never mind say it out loud. The tears were falling harder now and she thanked God that there was nobody around to see her.

Suddenly there was movement from the bed. John's hand twitched slightly in hers. She wiped her eyes hastily as his eyes flickered slightly and his mouth began to form a silent word.

No sound came out as his lips continued to repeat the word. Martha leaned her ear close to his mouth and finally she could make out the repeated word.

'Martha. Martha' he croaked, softly.

The machines around them suddenly started to scream. Seconds later Rose and Jackie burst into the room.

Rose dashed to the bed, pushing Martha out of the way in her haste. She grabbed the hand that Martha had been holding mere seconds ago. 'I'm here John. Can you hear me?'

John was silent for a number of seconds, before his eyelids flickered once more and clearer than ever he croaked out: 'Martha.'

Rose froze. Martha's stomach plummeted to the floor as both Rose and Jackie turned to stare at her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Two updates in two days, I can't quite believe it myself. This is what happens when I've loads of work that I just don't want to do.**

**Hope you like it. And remember reviews make me happy and happy me writes more... (Oh Blackmail, what fun!) xxx**

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Never had Martha felt so ecstatic and so mortified at the same time. Wishing she could just sink into a large hole in the middle of the ground, she averted her eyes from Rose's accusatory glare and excused herself from the room. Arriving into the corridor she stopped and pressed her back against the wall breathing heavily.

What had just happened?

'What the hell was that in there?' The furious voice behind her made her jump.

Martha spun around coming face to face with Rose. Rose's face was set like stone and her hands were shaking.

'Why may I ask is my boyfriend calling your name as he wakes up?'

Martha shook her head silently. The thoughts were racing through her head too quickly for her to catch one, never mind to verbalise what she was thinking.

Rose took a step towards Martha. Martha could see the tears brimming in her eyes. 'Perhaps it's best if you just go home Martha.'

Martha nodded slightly and reached down to collect her back aware the whole time of Rose's eyes boring into her back. Gathering her things together she made to walk towards the door before suddenly stopping and turning back towards Rose.

'Look Rose, I really have no clue what's going on here, I mean at all. This whole situation is frankly mental and I'm doing my best to keep up with it. There's clearly some secret here that I'm not aware of and I think it's high time I was let in on it. I'm sorry if what happened in there upset you but I don't understand it either.'

Martha stopped. Rose's glare had softened and she now she was the one looking guilty.

'Ok Martha, you're right. There is something going here that you're not aware of. We should talk. Tomorrow. Right now I need to go check that my boyfriend is ok.'

Rose couldn't help but slightly emphasise the word boyfriend. She knew it was childish but damn it he _was_ her boyfriend and it was pretty terrible of Martha to be trying to steal him away from her. Although, she was very aware of the fact that it hadn't taken much for Martha to sway John's eye, and if she dug down really deep she was aware of a faint sense of relief, which she tried hard to bury.

Martha nodded curtly and set off down the corridor, her boots clacking loudly on the wooden floor. Rose watched her go, took a deep breath and returned to the hospital room where John was much more awake. He smiled tiredly at her as she entered the room.

'Thought this was supposed to be the quiet life' she said smiling softly at him.

He let out a small chuckle. 'Thought I was boring you. Needed a bit of adventure.'

Her smile fell and she saw the flicker behind his eyes as the truth in the jesting became obvious.

Jackie, oblivious as always to the reality of the situation blustered up to John and began fixing his pillows. Rose was alarmed to see how much that short conversation had tired him out. He was so far removed from the man she had travelled with, the man she had fallen in love with. He was just so _human_. So frail.

They needed to talk. But not right now, not while he was in this state. Pouring John a glass of water she settled down on the chair beside his bed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Martha fumbled in her bag for her keys. She made a mental note to start carrying a smaller bag. She seemed to spend hours of the day searching for things in it. Finding them buried right at the very bottom she stuck the key in the lock and swung the door open.

The light in the corridor was off, but Martha could see a light coming from the kitchen. Opening the door she saw the table beautifully set, a bouquet of roses sitting in the middle, a candle burned to a stub.

'Shit.' Martha cursed dropping her bag and going in search of Tom. Moving swiftly towards the living room she found him sitting in the couch, a bottle of beer in his hand, watching a bad reality show on TV.

He didn't even look up as she entered the room. She rushed to his side.

'Oh my God I am so sorry Tom. Things got totally out of hand at work and I forgot to call and when I remembered, my phone had died and...' she trailed off.

She sighed. 'Tom look at me.'

Rolling his eyes, he turned and faced her.

'I know there is no excuse. I am so sorry.'

Tom shook his head. 'We had this planned Martha. This makes it what the fourth time I've been left sitting like a fool waiting for you to come home? Ever since you started that god dammed job you have pretty much checked out of this relationship.'

'That's not true Tom.' Martha was aware however of how anaemic her denial sounded. The reality of the situation was clear to anybody who even glanced at it.

Tom sighed. 'You don't need me any more Martha Jones. You did once, but not anymore. And that's fine. But I really don't want to wait around in the hope that something else will go wrong in your life so that I can be there to pick up the pieces. It's not what I want for you and more than that, it's not what I want for me.'

A tear spilled down Martha's cheek. 'What are you saying Tom.'

Tom reached up and stroked her hair a tear threatening to fall from his eye. 'I think we're over.'

Martha's face crumpled. A sob escaped her yet she found she didn't want to argue with Tom. Hard as it may be, she knew deep down that this was for the best.

Tom placed his arm around her shoulders and the pair sat in silence together for several moments before Tom pressed one last kiss into her hair and left Martha sitting alone in her living room.

Martha grabbed the now warm bottle of beer Tom had left lying on the table. She downed the contents in one go. What a bloody day.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is a rather short chapter. Not the the most action packed but vital for later chapters. **

**As always, reviews make me super happy!**

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Bright and early the next morning Martha arrived at the Torchwood offices. Scanning her ID card to enter, she pressed the button to call the lift and waited for it to make its journey down from the 28th floor where it was currently. She was soon joined by Sam, one of their medical team.

After the pair had exchanged greetings and meaningless conversation about the weather Martha asked, nonchalantly she hoped, about John's condition.

'He was looking much brighter when I left yesterday' Sam said. 'I heard you were out with him when it happened?'

Martha nodded. She had been trying to avoid thinking about that. The rush of emotions, good and bad threatened to overpower her whenever her mind wandered to it. The knot in her stomach when John stared into her eyes, the burning sensation where his hand had been, the terror when she realised that something was terribly wrong.

'Yeah. I didn't really see what happened though.'

'There'll be loads of paperwork to fill out anyway.' Sam said.

Martha sighed. She'd forgotten about all of that. Sometimes she wished Torchwood could operate outside the government. Or else she could go freelance. Though she still didn't know that much about other life forms. Maybe she could bring John with her...

With an effort Martha tore her mind back to the conversation at hand.

'I'm sure Miss Tyler will be happy he's back up and running.' Sam continued conversationally.

Martha half smiled in tacit agreement as the lift arrived and the pair stepped into it. As the doors closed Martha began to probe Sam for information on Rose and John.

'So what's the story with those two? A workplace romance?'

Sam shook his head. 'Nah. She was here long before him. Just turned up with him one day, claimed he was an expert on all this stuff and gave him a job. Never heard her mention him before but suddenly he was here and they were dating.'

'He just turned up out of the blue?'

Sam nodded. 'Yeah totally. I mean, there was rumours that she had some guy hidden away somewhere. James in accounts put serious amounts of time and energy into trying to score her but she wouldn't bite. We all figured she'd had her heart broken by some guy and just wasn't ready to move on. Then she disappeared for like three days and comes back with this guy. She was like a different woman, like whatever had been weighing her down for the last two years was suddenly lifted. Guess it was John...'

Sam stopped as the doors opened and the pair stepped out into the Torchwood hub. Giving Martha a small wave, he rambled towards the medical wing, stopping to flirt with the receptionist as he went.

Martha walked towards her office deep in thought. The conversation with Sam had filled her with doubts about her relationship with John. Clearly whatever he and Rose had was deep-seated and lingering. But yet she couldn't ignore the obvious tension between them, the way Rose often seemed irritated when John was around, the far-away look in John's eyes.

Changing her mind, she turned on her heel and walked towards Rose's office. Steeling herself, she rapped sharply on the door before she could change her mind.

'Come in.' Rose called out, exhaustion evident in her tone.

Martha took a deep breath and opened the door.

Rose was sitting at her desk, filling in forms. When she looked up, there were black circles around her eyes and her hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb since yesterday, which Martha figured, it probably hadn't.

'Hi.' Martha said feeling awkward.

Rose's shoulders slumped visibly as she regarded the woman at the door. 'Hey. I guess I know why you're here. Come in and close the door behind you. I owe you an explanation.'

Martha closed the door and walked into the office pulling the chair close to the desk. Her eye caught a picture of Rose and John in an embrace. They were standing on a beach and Rose's face was the picture of happiness.

Rose noticed Martha's eyes looking at the photograph. She nodded towards it.

'That was the first picture taken of me and John. My mum took it minutes after The Doctor and Donna left.'

Martha nodded politely. She wasn't sure what this had to do with anything, or even if it did. She thought it was better to let Rose to do this in her own time.

Rose sighed and ran her hands through her hair. 'God you don't even know about him. The Doctor I mean... I mean where do I begin?'

'The Doctor? Is that a man?'

Rose's eyes grew soft. 'Yes. No. He's more than a man. He is without doubt the greatest adventure I ever had.'

There was tenderness in Rose's voice that shocked Martha. If she didn't know any better she would swear that Rose was in love with this man. But what about John?

Rose poured herself a glass of water. 'Ok Martha, I'm going to tell you everything. Please don't say anything until you've heard the full story.'

'So you already know about aliens? Well there's one special alien. He's the last of a race called Timelords. His name is The Doctor...'


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I really don't like this chapter. I had very severe writers block and nothing would come. I finally got this written, which isn't as terrible as some of the other versions. So please accept this with my promise that I will write a much better chapter next. xx**

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Martha stared at Rose completely dumbstruck.

What the hell? Did Rose actually expect her to believe this crap? Parallel worlds?

'Though', a small unwelcome voice piped up in the back of her mind, 'four months ago you didn't believe in Aliens and now...'

Martha closed her eyes tightly. Squeezing them shut, her mind raced through everything that Rose had just told her.

She opened her eyes. Rose was watching her impassively, trying desperately to read Martha's facial expression.

'So John. He's an alien?'

Rose shook her head.

'No. Well not really. He is part Time Lord, but he's human.'

'So he's not the man you travelled through space and...' Martha stopped, frowned slightly then continued. 'Space and _Time_ with.'

Martha wasn't sure why the idea of Time Travel was having such an effect on her. Possibly, it was just one step too far. Aliens, Time Lords, Parallel Worlds and Time Travel. Not your average Tuesday.

Rose shook her head. 'No. I mean, he has the same memories, is, to all intents and purposes the same man, but no. He's not The Doctor.'

Martha noticed how Rose's voice filled with warmth every time she mentioned this Doctor.

'You loved him.'

Rose nodded. 'Completely. And when I was given the opportunity to live a life with him I jumped at it. But the trouble is, John isn't The Doctor. He looks like him, speaks like him and thinks like him. But he's human. He's bored and trapped living a normal, linear life.'

'And you're bored too.' Martha said matter of factly.

Rose inhaled deeply and then nodded almost imperceptibly.

Martha felt a wave of sympathy for the woman sitting across from her.

'Ok, but I'm not totally sure what this has to do with me.' Martha probed.

'After I got trapped here, The Doctor continued to travel. That's what he does. He goes on, never stops. And along the way he picks up people who travel with him. People like me and Donna. And you.'

Martha furrowed her brow. 'Me?'

'Well other you. The Martha Jones who lives in my world.'

Martha's breath hitched in her throat.

'Wait, so what you're saying is that in your world, the world where the Doctor exists, there is another version of me, and I travel with him?'

Martha was finding it increasingly hard to breathe. For some reason she hadn't thought about the fact that there may be another version of her in that other world.

'So that means, John knew me when he saw me in the cafe' she said, realisation dawning.

Rose nodded. 'Yeah. The second he saw you, he wanted to get to know you. Get to know this Martha Jones, the one he hadn't messed around.'

'Messed around?'

Rose half smiled. 'The other Martha was apparently pretty taken with The Doctor and he admits he didn't treat her very well.'

Martha's stomach began to churn. 'So this was a pity job?' she choked out, feeling the bile rise in her throat.

Rose's eyes widened. 'Oh God no Martha, don't think that. He just wanted to start afresh, treat you the way you should be treated.'

Martha had heard enough. She jumped out of the chair and barrelled out of the office, nearly mowing down two of Rose's assistants in her hurry to get the hell out of there.

From the corner of her eye she saw the office come to stand still and she raced towards the lift and pressed the call button impatiently. When the lift finally came she jumped inside and as the doors closed slowly behind her, she began to sob.


	11. Chapter 11

Tears still streaming down her cheeks, Martha stared at the numbers inside the lift. Making a snap decision she pressed the button for the hospital floor. She needed to speak to John, hear his side of the story.

Stepping out of the lift on the hospital floor she turned and walked towards the room that she had left in such a hurry last night. She hadn't really thought about what had happened in there, the way that John had murmured her name. What did that mean? And did she even care anymore, now that she knew everything? Anyway, it probably wasn't even her he was calling for, it was probably the other Martha. His Martha.

Martha choked back a sob. Her footsteps faltered as she questioned if she really wanted to have this conversation. What could he possibly say that would make her feel better. Unless he could tell her that everything Rose said was a lie... and Martha knew better than that. Rose Tyler was not a liar.

Nevertheless, Martha forced herself to continue. She soon found herself outside the hospital room. Gathering all her strength she took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

John was lying in the bed, newspapers, books and random scribbled pages strewn everywhere. Martha felt herself grin in spite of everything. God, could this man ever just sit still. Maybe watch TV like a normal person.

'Martha!' John's face lit up in a bright smile as he pushed himself up on the bed and gestured to the chair beside it.

'Come sit down. How are you? I'm so sorry for giving you a fright. I get a bit overambitious sometimes. Guess I forget that I'm...' he trailed off suddenly.

'Mortal?' Martha finished.

John's eyes widened.

'What?'

Martha sighed. 'Rose told me everything. _Doctor._'

For several seconds John just stared at her. Then he smiled.

'So you know everything? Well that's brilliant. Now we can...'

'What? No!' Martha interjected. 'Not brilliant at all.'

John stopped, looking confused.

'No?'

'No', she said forcefully. Noticing the confused look on his face she continued, 'I feel like everything you've ever said to me was a lie. I feel like anything that I thought was maybe happening with us was actually between you and another person. I feel like this has all been a pity job. And mostly I feel like I've been betrayed by the person I...' her voice broke and she began to cry.

'Tell me about her John' she said between sobs. 'Tell me about this other Martha Jones. The real Martha Jones.'

'Ok first things first,' John began, 'she is not the "real" Martha Jones. You are just as real as she is ok? Just like I am just as real as The Doctor is.'

'Do we look exactly the same?' Martha sniffed.

John nodded. 'Yes' he said softly. 'You even have some of the same facial expressions, like when we've been running and you turn to me and you look so tired, yet so incredibly happy at the same time. Or the way you bite your lip when you're concentrating, or how you tap your feet when you're nervous but trying to hide it.'

For a second Martha felt a warmness spread across her stomach as her eyes locked with John's before she yanked herself back into the present.

_Focus Martha_. _He noticed those things about the other Martha. All you did was remind him of them_

Steely eyed she faced John again. 'Tell me about her.'

'She was amazing,' he said, 'and I treated her terribly. She came along at a very hard time in my life. I had just lost Rose, the only person to make me feel anything in a very long time. Rose gave me something to live for, and then she was ripped away from me, sent here and trapped here. And then along came Martha.'

'Rose said she was in love with you.'

'I pretended not to notice. See, if you don't acknowledge something, then you don't have to deal with it. And I didn't want to lose Martha. I really liked her, liked having her around. And if I'm honest, I liked the way she looked at me. It was the same way that Rose had looked at me and made me feel less alone.'

'Other you kind of sounds like a dick' Martha observed.

'Eventually she came to her senses and left me. Last time I saw her, just before I was left here, she was happily engaged to a young doctor and was off to join Torchwood.'

Martha frowned.

'Engaged to a doctor and joining Torchwood. You mean like how _I_ was engaged to a doctor and joined Torchwood?'

'The closer the parallel worlds are, the more similarities there are,' John explained.

_So that explains my feelings for John,_ Martha thought. _And if things really are that similar, then I guess his feelings for me are the same as his feelings for other Martha. Nice to have around when you feel down. Like a puppy._

'Do you miss her?'

'All the time,' answered immediately. 'But having you here, it's just made everything... better.'

Martha jumped to her feet.

'I can't be here,' she muttered grabbing her bag and pulling the door open. Before leaving she turned to John.

'I'm not her.'

And Martha Jones walked out the door.


End file.
